June 19, 2012 – Robert Marquette, president and CEO of Members 1st FCU in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and a NAFCU at-large director, will talk about credit unions’ work with the Small Business Administration and the difficulties posed by the credit union member business loan cap in a House subcommittee hearing Thursday.
The hearing, held by the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations, will address regulatory burdens associated with lending to small businesses. The hearing will place special emphasis on the management of the Small Business Administration’s financial assistance programs.
The panel, chaired by Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., is looking for input on the current state of small business lending and how the SBA could improve processes to make programs run more efficiently.
Marquette, one of four witnesses for Thursday’s hearing, will discuss credit unions’ work with the SBA in delivering loans to small-business members. He will also discuss ways in which the MBL cap, currently set at 12.25 percent of an institution’s total assets, hurts credit unions’ ability to fully serve member small businesses and create jobs.
Also testifying are:
- David Rader, an SBA lending executive at Wells Fargo (Minneapolis, Minn.);
- Brett Martinez, president and CEO of Redwood FCU in Santa Rosa, Calif., on behalf of CUNA; and
- Timothy Dixon, vice president of Head of Business Owner Banking in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, on behalf of the Consumer Bankers Association.
The hearing is set for 10 a.m.
(NAFCU is encouraging members to continue their contacts with lawmakers on H.R. 1418 and S. 2231, which would raise the MBL cap. For lawmakers' contact information, dial 202-224-3121, or use our online tools.)